An electronic module comprises a printed circuit board and components which are mechanically and electrically attached thereto. To produce the printed circuit board, components are arranged on the printed circuit board using an automatic pick-and-place unit, and thereafter soldered thereto in a reflow oven. A plurality of automatic pick-and-place units can be arranged sequentially on a pick-and-place line. For the production of multiple printed circuit boards, a pick-and-place system can be employed, comprising a plurality of pick-and-place lines.
A combination of component types on the automatic pick-and-place unit is described as a set-up. Using a set-up, a quantity of different printed circuit boards can be produced, which are described as a set-up family. Customarily, however, printed circuit boards of more different printed circuit board types are to be produced than is possible using a single set-up, thereby necessitating a change of set-up in the course of production.
A set-up can be accommodated on one or more set-up tables, which can easily be replaced on the automatic pick-and-place unit. However, the equipment of a set-up table with components of predefined component types is complex. Consequently, a distinction is frequently drawn between fixed set-ups and variant set-ups, wherein a fixed set-up table is intended to retain its composition of component types over a predefined planning period, whereas a variant set-up table will foreseeably be refitted within said planning period.
DE 10 2012 220 904 A1 relates to a method for determining a most advantageous fixed set-up possible for a pick-and-place line.